Ronald Reagan Gets a Big-Screen Biopic

Get ready -- it's time for our 40th president to return to the big screen. One Mr. Ronald Reagan, Hollywood actor, California Governor, and leader of the free world through the '80s, is getting a biopic. Avoiding puppets and "The Land of Confusion," the biopic will be a comprehensive story about his life from childhood to presidency, an amalgamation of two bestselling biographies by Paul Kengor: The Crusader and God and Ronald Reagan.

And this won't be like the last stab at Reagan's life, the miniseries Reagans with James Brolin. Instead of whipping up anger for "left-wing bias," this project is getting ready for a more celebratory affair.

The Hollywood Reporter posts that Reagan was adapted by Jonas McCord, and will be produced by Mark Joseph (who first optioned the books four years ago) and Ralph Winter. Joseph says:

Only in Hollywood could you make an insulting, condescending movie about a much-loved historical figure, hire an actor who loathes the man, watch it flop and then somehow conclude that Americans don't want to see a movie about him. I watched Americans line up and wait for 10 hours for the simple privilege of passing by his closed casket. They love this man.

That might sound like the project would be going in the complete opposite direction, to rose-colored status, but scribe McCord said: "I was of the opinion that at best he was a bad actor and at worst a clown." So, your guess is as good as mine how this will ultimately turn out.

Right now, the team is firming up financing, and then it should get cast fairly quickly, since the plan is to release the feature before the end of next year. But who should play the president? THR offered up a secondary poll, suggesting the likes of Andrew Garfield, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Zac Efron, Chris Pine, and James Franco. I guess the idea is half men with notable acting chops, half random and surprising twists? (Can you even fathom Efron as the president?)

While I'm intrigued with how Garfield, Franco, or Gordon-Levitt would handle the material, I'd hope for more of a physical resemblance. Reagan was an imposing physical presence, and a pair of lifts and padded clothing won't be enough. I'd lean towards Brandon Routh myself. The actor/president had a Superman-like look in his earlier years, and was 6' 1", which would match nicely with Routh's 6' 3" stature. If the boundaries of time were no consideration, however, Paul Gross would be a prime candidate, having a good resemblance to the late Reagan, and being 6" tall.

But these are the days when Josh Brolin was actually able to make himself look like George W. Bush, so anything is possible ... anything besides Efron.